Dear Parents: Letter from the Chancellor

Dear Parents

By the time you are reading this issue of Postmarks, we’ll be moving into the final months of our academic year. It’s hard to believe that another academic year is coming to a close so quickly. And just as those of us on campus find ourselves in a whirlwind of exams, final projects and preparation for graduation, many of you are considering whether Illinois is the right choice for your child next year. 
 
We are in the most active part of our admissions process for the 2014 freshman class right now. We’ve extended our admission offers and now the decisions are in the hands of your sons and daughters, and you, as parents, are going to play some role in that choice. So, in some ways, you may look at this column as a final effort on my part to recruit your student. Your child deserves the most transformational learning and discovery experience that he or she can possibly find. And that’s exactly what we provide. With the greatest return on investment in the Big Ten, our undergraduates are ranked third in the nation by recruiters as “best trained and educated” and “best able to succeed once hired” (The Wall Street Journal). As the May deadline for acceptance choices approaches, I encourage you to explore the breadth and depth of opportunities that we offer – both in and out of the classroom and for a lifetime.
 
The stories in this issue give you a snapshot of what kind of invaluable experiences students find when they enroll here – the same experiences that they will carry with them long after they earn a degree. Four of our award-winning professors share their perspectives on what constitutes great teaching. You get an inside perspective on what makes Beckwith Hall among the most innovative and inspiring places to live on any college campus in the country. A group of our undergraduate students put their knowledge to work in an international competition – presenting a project with the potential to lower the incidence of heart disease. Another group of students is working closer to home, reaching out to the local Latino/a community.
 
This is what University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is really like day in and day out. Our faculty members and our students are working together to shape a personalized educational experience. And what we do here at Illinois – and we do it as well or better than any university in the nation – is give our students the tools, knowledge and skills to choose their own paths to become leaders in their communities, in their states, their nation and their world.

Sincerely,

Phyllis M. Wise
Chancellor